From Serena Williams beating the Key Biscayne traffic by bicycle a couple of years ago to Novak Djokovic taking a morning ride before a Wimbledon semi-final, tennis players have established a rich and often successful tradition of riding the road to success. Philipp Kohlschreiber, who lives locally and cycled to all his matches, added to that rather quaint custom on the red clay of Kitzbühel by beating the French qualifier Paul-Henri Mathieu in three sets to win the Generali Open.
A few home comforts clearly do wonders for the 39th-ranked Kohlschreiber. Three of his six ATP Tour wins have come on German soil, and his 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Mathieu in Austria follows a run earlier this year to the final of the Munich Open, an event where he has twice been the champion. At 31, there may not be too many more such occasions ahead for the Bavarian, and he was understandably keen to savour the moment.
“Winning here is very special for me,” he said. “That’s the crazy thing about tennis. I’ve been working hard this season but lost many close matches that hurt me. But now I am super happy.”
That wasn’t the case after the opening half hour, for it was the 109th-ranked Mathieu who was on his bike the quicker. Playing his first final since 2009, when he lost to Nikolay Davydenko in Hamburg, the Frenchman broke twice to claim the opening set in ominous fashion. But a break in the first game of the second set seemed to settle Kohlschreiber, who went on to drop just three points on serve for the remainder of the set.
“I wasn’t loose enough and played too many short balls in the first set,” said Kohlschreiber. “I managed an early break in the second set, and that helped me to find my rhythm.”
He added: “I’m very happy that I won the tournament, it doesn’t happen too often in a career. I spend a lot of time here in Kitzbühel, I know the people and everybody is very friendly.”
For Mathieu, who was bidding to achieve the rare feat of winning an ATP Tour title from a relatively modest position in the rankings, the disappointment of defeat was at least partly mitigated by the kind of run that must have seemed a pipe dream when he missed the entire 2011 season with a knee injury.
“It’s great to be back in a final,” said Mathieu. “It has been so long.”
He added: “It is always difficult to lose, especially in the final. I ran out of gas for sure, but I gave my best and I am happy with my week. This week gave me confidence for other tournaments. I know I can reach a final again.”
